GRINNELL, Iowa - A nail-biter walkoff victory has put the Grinnell College baseball team on the cusp of history.
The Pioneers moved within a win of their first Midwest Conference championship in program history, scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth to secure an 8-7 victory over Illinois College Friday afternoon at Pioneer Park.
Grinnell set a school record for MWC victories (in the 21-game conference era) by improving to 15-4 in the league and 21-15 in all games. The win broke a deadlock atop the standings as Illinois College dipped to 14-5 in the league and 23-15 overall.
The teams meet Saturday for a doubleheader, and a win in either game would assure the Pioneers the conference title and hosting rights for the MWC Tournament.
Grinnell led nearly the entire way before surrendering three runs in the top of the eighth to put the visitors ahead 7-6. After the hosts went scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, Connor Pink '29 struck out the side in the top of the ninth to set up the thrilling bottom half of the inning.
Stuart Cash '27 tied things up with one swing, blasting a 2-2 pitch over the left-field fence to make it 7-all. Ryan Jackson '29 followed with a walk, stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Maddux Anderson '29 walked and Jacob Gaynor '28 reached base on a fielder's choice to load the bases.
Pink then stepped in the batter's box and walked on a 3-2 count to send Jackson across the plate for the game-winner as the Pioneers and their fans went into celebratory mode.
Grinnell outhit IC 12-7, with Cash getting three hits and Pink and Connor Goodson '26 adding two each. The Pioneers had a solid starting pitching effort from Shea Goel '28, who scattered three hits and struck out one in five innings. Jakob Runkel '26 followed with three innings of strong relief and struck out four while allowing four hits. That led to Pink shutting down the Blueboys in the top of the ninth.
Each team scored in the first inning, with Grinnell's run coming across on Goodson's RBI single. Cash blasted a solo homer in the second before IC scored in the third, tying the game at 2-all. The Pioneers scored three runs in the third on an RBI double to left by Wyatt Raymond '28 and two-run single to center by Anderson.
The Blueboys sliced the gap to 5-3, but Gaynor pushed across a run on a fielder's choice in the fifth to make it 6-3. The Blueboys scored once in the sixth and three more times in the eighth to set up the thrilling finish.
On Grinnell's all-time season chart, Goodson moved up to second for runs scored with 46 and
Nikolas Ruden '26 is in fifth with 43. Raymond jumped to eighth for doubles with 14. Cash had a stolen base, moving him up to seventh on the program's career list with 41.
Saturday's first pitch is at noon, and the first game will be followed by Senior Day.
